a. What is the nature of General Mills' business? That is, based on what you know about the company and on the accompanying financial statements, how does General Mills make money? General Mills, Inc. has three segments. U.S. Retail sells ready-to-eat cereals, meals, yogurt, organic foods, etc. The International segment includes retail business in Canada, Europe, Latin America and the Asia/Pacific region. Bakeries and Foodservice sells to retail and wholesale bakeries, and convenience stores. The company makes money through producing various food and products and distributing them all over the world.
b. What financial statements are commonly prepared for external reporting purposes? What titles does General Mills give these
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Users are likely interested in information that will assess the company's liquidity, solvency, risk and return, etc. Therefore, they can know more about how is the company financed and the availability of cash to pay debt from the balance sheet. They can know exactly about allocation of the use of cash for different activities from the statement of cash flows. Income statement will provide the information about the revenues and expenses of the company. They can also access information associated with dividend paid and retained earnings.
e. Who are General Mills external auditors? Describe the two "opinion" letters that General Mills received in 2006. In your own words, what do these opinions mean? Why are both opinions dated several months after General Mills' year end? KPMG LLP is General Mills' external auditor. The first opinion letter indicates that General Mills and subsidiaries have maintained effective internal control. The other opinion letter talks about that KPMG has examined the company's consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule. The public accounting firm confirms that General Mills' financial statements are well-presented in all material respects and consisted with U.S. GAAP' criteria. These opinions mean that the company has followed GAAP rules and correctly reported the amount of each item associated its financial performance. The company's consolidated financial statements came to public on the
The second step will be assessing the supply market and discovering who offers what. General Mills is a member of the World Cocoa Foundation, which helps create contact with cocoa farmers, origin governments, and environmental organizations. It is very important to consider environmentally and labor friendly options when developing my sourcing strategy for cocoa beans. General Mills does not want to risk partnering with an unethical cocoa farmer who violates labor laws using young children or putting the workers through harsh conditions.
investors, auditors, executives of the business, etc.) an overview of the financial results and condition of the company. The major financial statements that come out of the accounting cycle are income statements, balance sheets, Statement of cash flows and Statement of retained earnings. Income statements are considered the most important of all the financial statements since it presents the operating results of an entity , e.g. revenues, expenses, and profits/losses generated during the reporting period (Bragg, 2017). Balance sheets provide reports of assets, liabilities, and equity of the entity as of the reporting date and can be considered the second most important statement because it provides information/figures about the liquidity, as well as the capitalization of a company (Bragg, 2017). Statement of cash flows exhibits the cash inflows and outflows that occur during a reporting period, which provides a useful comparison to the income statement, particularly when the amount of profit or loss reported does not reflect cash flows encountered by the businesses (Bragg, 2017). Statement of retained earnings is the least used financial statement that provides information regarding changes in equity during the reporting period and can include information such as: sale or repurchase of stock, dividend payments, and changes caused by reported profits or losses. Statements of retained earnings are often
CRITICALLY CONTRAST THE KEY ELEMENT OF GUCCI’S MARKETING STRATEGY TO ITS CLOSEST COMPETITOR. JUSTIFY WHY YOU HAVE CHOSEN THIS COMPANY AS GUCCI’S CLOSEST COMPETITORS
When you’re looking at the income statement, you can get information about profitability for a particular period. This is also called the profit and loss statement. The income statement is composed of both income and expenses. This statement can be used to deduct expenses from income and report either a net profit or net loss for that period. This statement will deduct all expenses from income and then report your net profit or net loss for that period. This will allow the business owner to determine if the business is bringing in a good amount of revenue to make a profit. The cash flow statement shows the movement in cash and balance over period. The cash flow can vary depending on the operating activities, investing and financing activities. This statement provides one business owner with insight to the company’s liquidity which is vital to the growth of the business. Reinvesting in business is very important, looking at the statement of retained earnings will tell a business owner how much were reinvested in the company. After profitable period, every big business has to give some of its profits to stockholders, and keep the rest amount as retained earnings. Out of all statements, retaining statement is important to companies that sells stocks to the public. This statement can also provide you with assets and liabilities information. These informations can be used to assess the financial health of your business. The results of a balance sheet will help the business owners to show the risk of liquidity and credit. Looking at these information you can measure trends and relationships to show where in the areas you can improve. These can also be compared to similar companies to show how the business measures up to leading competitors (Ali, 2010). In summary, the financial statements can provide a business owner
An external auditor performs an audit, done understanding with particular laws or rules, of the fiscal explanations of a company, administration entity, other legitimate entity, or organization, furthermore will be free of the substance constantly audited. Clients about these entities ' fiscal information, for example, such that investors, administration agencies, and the all public, depend on the outer evaluator on display an impartial What 's more autonomous review report card.
Find an annual report for a company of your choice and answer the following questions:
A review and an audit report are both a form of an attestation engagement. A Review, however, is less in scope so it provides a moderate level of assurance on the financial statements. It is considered a “sniff” of an audit, which comparatively provides reasonable assurance that no material misstatements occurred. Since a review deals with a limited scope, it does not provide the basis for expressing an opinion on the presentation of the
1. From a strategic management standpoint, why do you think that corporate management at Alcoa delayed taking action for five years as the plant continued to lose money and deteriorate in other operational measures?
b.) The financial statements that are commonly prepared for external reporting purposes are the Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and Statement of Cash Flows. General Mills gives these statements a title of Consolidated Statements of Earnings, Consolidated Balance Sheets and Consolidated statements of Cash Flows. Consolidated means that General Mills is factoring in all of its subsidiaries into its aggregated accounting figures that are represented on these statements.
B) How well has Berkshire Hathaway performed? In the aggregate? In its investment in Scott & Fetzer? In its investments in earlier purchases of GEICO stock? In its investments in convertible preferred securities?
General Mills (NYSE:GIS), our company, is a global consumer foods company. We develop distinctive value-added food products and market with our unique brand names. We work continuously to improve our established products and to create new products that meet our customers’ potential needs and preferences. Our company has $14.88 billion in sales last year. Our sales has grown substantially throughout the years due in large part to our popular brand names, this however is only part of the reason that we has been so successful. We markets global brands such as Green Giant, Old El Paso, Häagen-Dazs, Yoplait, Cheerios, Betty
3. What is your assessment of the competitive strength of Kraft Foods’ different business units?
From ready-to-eat cereal to convenient meals to wholesome snacks, General Mills is one of the biggest food products manufacturers and competes in growing food categories that are on-trend with consumer tastes around the world. The company markets many well-known brands, such as Haagen Daazs, Yoplait, Betty Crocker, Totinos, and Cheerios, among others. Main rivals include Kellogg, Kraft, Conagra Foods, and Sara Lee. General Mills sells its products in three segments: U.S. retail (63% of net sales), International (25% of net sales), and Bakeries and Foodservices (12% of net sales). In addition, General Mills sells cereals and ice cream through its Cereal Partners Worldwide and Haagen Daazs Japan
General Mills is a company that has strategically developed and growth through mergers and acquisitions. Mergers are the fusion of two companies that join forces to compete in the market. There are two types of merger: Horizontal merger on which the company acquires a competitor and vertical merger, on which the fusion is with a supplier. Acquisitions, on the other hand occurs when a company buys another company and become the property of the buyer. Thorough study of the market has made General Mills maintains a leader position on the food industry through more than 100 years in the market. According to a business encyclopedia, Strategy is a plan a company develops to reach a determine objective and reflects the company’s strength,
The purpose and responsibility of an audit is to provide reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatements whether due to fraud or error. The audit will follow the authoritative guidance provided by the PCAOB and AICPA auditing standards. In relation to Johnson & Johnson Company, it would be a plus if the auditor had experience with the Consumer, Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices, but not necessary since a firm would be able to hire an expert to consult on the audit. The test will cover risk assessment procedures, tests of controls and substantive procedures.